Netflix's The Big Flower Fight Is an Instant Mood Boost

Much like The Great British Bakeoff, the show takes place in a massive tent in the English countryside.

On the show, teams of floral designers compete to build elaborate structures made of flowers—and it's a delight.

The Big Flower Fightis Netflix's latest spin on a reality TV format first laid out by the mega-hit, The Great British Baking Show Off. Premiering May 22, The Big Flower Fight places a group of amateur floral designers in a dome in the English countryside, and challenges them to create increasingly elaborate installations made of flowers.

Ultimately, the teams of two are competing for a chance to make a sculpture for London's famed Kew Royal Botanic Garden.Hosts Natasha Demetriou and Vic Reeves have the hard job of saying goodbye to one team a week, until the top three remaining groups compete in show's eighth and final episode.

While The Big Flower Fight and The Great British Baking Show have superficial similarities, there are two major differences. First, the obvious: One is about extreme flower arranging, the other about baking. The more important variable is a matter of timing. Unlike The Great British Baking Show, The Big Flower Fight is being released in the middle of a global pandemic.

Therefore, it wouldn't be inaccurate to call The Big Flower Fight a kind of telemedicine. The show's effects on the soul—or at least, my soul—have been immediate and transformative.

Netflix

Let me demonstrate. This is me, before watching The Big Flower Fight on Netflix: Stressed, preoccupied, scrolling Twitter for updates on the state of the world. This is me, afterwards: Amazed by human ingenuity, lulled into calm by nature's bounty, pressing play on the next episode.

The Big Flower Fightfollows a familiar structure. In each episode, teams of two create show-stoppers around a theme, and are judged by how well they fulfill "the brief." Expect to see giant beetles made from ombre blossoms, and sculptures of bees with bees feeding upon them.

The show has no shortage of color, in terms of flowers andpersonality. While the structures are incredible, I was often distracted by the teams themselves.

Yan and Hanck are Scandinavian gardeners who showcase their unique fashion sensibilities, like dangling pom-pom earrings and neon top-hats, each episode. Father-son duo Ralph and Jim use their time on the show to bond, to heart-warming effect. However, my personal favorites are Sarah, a wedding florist, and Jordan, her assistant. Sarah's effusive, bubbly energy—plus her tremendous skills as a floral designer—are the makings of a beloved reality TV star.

Sarah and Jordan of The Big Flower Fight

Netflix

Presiding over the challenges is the incredibly named judge Kristin Griffith-Vanderyacht, a celebrity florist with a muted, but expressive, face and memorable zingers like the following: "I asked for character. I did not ask for sloppy." Hosts Demetriou and Reeves are comedians, not flower experts, but are there to provide essential updates on the team's dispositions. Who's gloating? Who's side-eying others' designs, and sweating?

Speaking of which: How much fighting is actually involved in The Big Flower Fight? The show's drama is tame in comparison to, say, the Real Housewives franchise, but it's still there.Take the third episode, when Declan and Eoghan, two Irish landscape designers who look like they walked off the cover of a romance novel, stockpile grasses so they can trade with other teams. While the rest of the teams are focusing on making art, these two are busy starting The Big Flower Fight'sbartering economy.

Declan and Eoghan in The Big Flower Fight

Netflix

Much like Bake Off, however, the general atmosphere under the dome seems to be one of mutual awe and respect (as opposed to the Stephen King thriller book, Under the Dome).

Perhaps the feeling of camaraderie stems from the contestants' shared goal, which is fundamentally idealistic: They're creating beauty. The teams' structures don't have the same utility as a bridge, or the lasting power as a stone statue. Eventually, that dress made out of cut flowers (yep, that happens) will wilt. But for the time it's blooming, it's glorious.

This content is imported from {embed-name}. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

While watching the Netflix show, I was reminded of the advice Cheryl Strayed recalls her mother giving her in the memoir Wild: "Put yourself in the way of beauty."The Big Flower Fight is a reminder to seize beauty when you see find it—and if you can't find it, to make it yourself.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io

This commenting section is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page. You may be able to find more information on their web site.

A Part of Hearst Digital Media
Oprah Magazine participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.